Binds of Conscription
by Reaper'sSenator2121
Summary: When the boys returned home, they thought that their fight was over. Al was recovering, and Edward was readjusting to life outside of his journey. But after a government pact suddenly sends the Elric Brothers to war against their will against Drachma and Creta, the brothers vow to protect each other on the battlefield. But at the mercy of war, how will they survive?
1. Chapter 1: Where Art Thou?

**I Do Not Own FMA at all. The following story takes place after Brotherhood ends. If you haven't read the manga or watched FMA: Brotherhood, I highly recommend doing so before reading this fic. **

**The story is told in Edward's point of view.**

Chapter 1: Where Art Thou Brother?

"Alphonse!? Damn it Al, where are you!"

I felt the ground shake beneath my flesh and steel as I tried to trudge myself forward through the wind and rain, listening to the crackle of thunder above my head with every few steps. The lightning of the storm provided me with my only light as I scrounged the muddy wasteland, running and screaming as the sounds of mortar fire tore through the stormy night air like a hot flame of an alchemist's hand searing through the eyes of his enemy. To my left, right, from any direction really, I could hear the sounds of other men, as explosion after explosion cried across the battlefield, the aftermath consisted of blood curdling screams evoked with terror and unrest. This..this was chaos. A turbulent tornado of horror and murder cried it's sorrows carelessly across the land we thought we'd saved. This conflict, though smaller than the civil war, was becoming an even bloodier conflict than Ishval could have ever dreamed. I dropped my gun onto the ground to help me run faster. Cupping my hands back over my mouth, I called aloud through the blood tainted air, the copper taste of my own blood coating my mouth as I screamed through the loud explosions that surrounded my hearing left and right.

"ALPHONSE!"

In the eyes of this ceaseless Armageddon, my brother was the only thing that mattered to me coming off of this battlefield. He was only a year younger than myself, but this madness was not something I ever wanted him to witness. He already has seen so much in his life time, suffering more pain than any man on this entire frontline. His eyes, though stained with the sin that I made him commit all of those years ago, were still pure enough to see the true evil of this entire scenario. This was a war, they told us. No. This was our own human salvation coming into questioning. Not even a single nation had any desire of assisting our soldiers, nor our Fuhrer, after the damage that King Bradley left behind for us when he was still in power. This was a fight only we could defend, as nation after nation have slowly turned against us. Our alchemic power of a nation was slowly collapsing, falling desperately without hope into the cold and lifeless hands of Creta and Drachma. Ignoring the dangers around me, I cried to the skies again.

"AL!"

_**"BANG, BANG, BANG!"**_

As I called back into the blackened skies, they were answered swiftly by the sound of three shells, freshly fired from a rifle echo nearby. I couldn't stop running, even as one of the three shots actually struck and bounced off of my automail leg upon impact. I felt the bullet hit a nerve cord in my now stiff and almost unusable prosthetic, causing me to lurch in pain. But I had to keep moving. Even if it took all of the strength I had left, I had to keep running, searching for my little brother. He was deep into the core of this battle, fighting as a State Alchemist while I was deployed to be nothing more than another gun handling piece of bait now that I'd lost my alchemy. I had the rank of a Colonel, but it was meaningless out here to throw my title around to anyone. This battle was getting out of control, so nobody cared anymore whether they were shooting at their own rank. It was all for one out here now, hoping to claim victory. If I still possessed my alchemy, I could have been out on the battlefield with Alphonse fighting along side him, meaning that we would have never been seperated like we are now. But me sacrificing my alchemy, one of the only things that ever truly helped me save people was the only way that I could retrieve Alphonse's body from the gate all those many months ago. Now, the burden I once carried as a State Alchemist was placed on his back, forever to be a reminder of what I used to be.

But would it be the thing that kills my brother, permanently, was what worried me the most. If Al was killed in this war, there were no second chances. Without my alchemy, I even can't bind his soul to a shotgun shell, let alone a rock or a blade of grass. Their would be no chance of rescuing him. No chance of ever seeing him again.

All I felt as I ran was the uselessness inside my head focusing my thoughts to the weapon I'd carelessly tossed in order to increase my speed. What would that gun I dropped of done for me besides slowed me down since I refuse to use it? I'd rather fight somebody using a knife or a sword than shoot them away from me. A weapon with limited ammo has limited capability, while a sword can do a lot more damage in such a close range environment as this. The battlefield itself was a muddy, barren and blood saturated wasteland, with the souls of now over one thousand Amestrians who have fallen since the battle started three hours ago dwindling upon it's tainted soil. It made me come to realize even more than ever the true face of reality. How expendable a human life truly is, and how expendable of a life I have become now that I was powerless, fighting as a useless foot soldier standing ceaselessly at the Gates of Hell.

...But although this trudged into my mind as I raced through the mud, my focus was prominent, attention drawn to the fact that I needed to locate the only family member I have left before he wound up getting shot to death in all of this merciless chaos. He was my little brother afterall...

_...And I'll do anything, to protect him._

**So this is chapter 1, and like with most of my stories, it takes place later on than the story really does. So, what do you think so far? Please review and tell me what your opinions are about this story and whether or not I should continue it! ^_^**


	2. Chapter 2: When The Sun Falls

Chapter 2

When The Sun Falls

This entire predicament started little over two years ago. We'd just returned home after Al and I managed to regain what we could of our bodies, and Al was recovering his strength from the time that his body had been wasted when he sat within the Gate. We'd made it back home to Resembool, thinking that the military no longer had its hands on us after I'd made a deal with Mustang to free myself of any military operations due to the fact that I no longer had my alchemy for the military to use on command. I resigned my State Alchemist certification one day before Alphonse was released from the hospital at Central Command. As soon as I left the hospital, Brigadere General Roy Mustang, an acquaintance of mine, made a promise to me and Al. That no matter what, he would make sure that we could never be drawn into military discretion ever again.

It's too bad that his words fell just a few tracks short from the truth.

It was only two month after we made it back home to Resembool that the letters were instated. I remember it like it was yesterday. Granny Pinako had grabbed the mail, like she did every Thursday, checking each piece thoroughly that had her name on it. At the time, I was in the living room, sitting on the sofa with Winry, who had her arms wrapped around my neck and was clinging to me like a hay hook pointed into a bail of straw. Times had been great since we came home. Alphonse was finally starting to beefen up and feel better, Winry and I had started to date after we both confessed our apparently bottled up feelings for one another, and our lives were slowly starting to run towards a better and more certain trail. Until..

"Ed, Alphonse, you both have mail!" Pinako called from the kitchen as she set the rest of her enveloped mail onto the table. "Letters from the Fuhrer I believe!"

Winry and I looked at each other uneasily as she let go of me and allowed me to stand up. As I looked down to the face of my blonde friend, and now girlfriend, she gave me her familiar scowl of uncertainty.

"From the Fuhrer? I thought you were finished with military business, Edward?" She muttered as I stretched my arms high into the air.

I sighed. "So did I. I already had a talk with Mustang, he said he'd take care of us and make sure that the military couldn't touch us anymore. So, what gives?"

"It beats me." Winry said, sounding a little bit angry with me as I walked into the kitchen, scooping my letter off of the table, taking Al's with me as well. Two wax sealed envelopes, dawned with the insignia of our new Fuhrer with our names in bold print upon the front of them. Before I could even open them, I heard Alphonse begin to walk downstairs. He'd been sleeping since about 7pm the night before, taking in as many hours as possible now that he required sleep in order to live. Drowsy, Al wandered into the living room, sitting on the couch across from where Winry was as I returned to the room and sat back down next to her with the letters in hand.

"Morning Al." I said cheerfully, giving him a sly smile. "And you used to call me sleepy head. Fifteen hours of sleep, huh?" Alphonse yawned at me.

"Oh shush, brother." He muttered. "I need as much sleep as I can. It's really helping me recoordinate my body back to the way it's supposed to be. Plus, it's helping me regain all of that energy that I lost after my soul rebonded with my body." I snickered.

"I know, I know. I just find it funny how you used to call me sleepy head for having to lug around your sleeping cycle AND mine when we were travelling. How's it feel now?" Suddenly, Winry gave me a light slap on the thigh as Al smiled at my comment.

"Oh, be nice to your brother." She growled playfully. "Let the man sleep."

"I feel like I could sleep another fifteen hours. Or fifty." He said with a small laugh. He then noticed what I had in my hand. "What's that?"

"What, this? It's a letter from the Fuhrer." I said unhappily as I passed him the envelope.

"The Fuhrer? Why?"

"I have no idea." I said with a sigh. "Hopefully it's just a hello or something. Need me to open yours for you?" Al shook his head.

"No, I've got the strength to lift a loaf of bread off of the table now." He said happily. "Ripping paper shouldn't be a problem."

"Just be careful not to rip the letter inside, Al." Winry smirked. "I wanna read both of yours." To Winry's sudden enthusiasm, I gave her a stern look.

"And who said I was gonna let you read my letter, gearhead?" I asked sarcastically. My reaction only greeted me with a flick to the nose from Win, which was a much better punishment than a wrench being cracked against my skull.

"Remember our little agreement there, alchemy freak?" She teased as I heard Alphonse slowly tear the envelope in his hands. "I'm not letting you keep secrets from me anymore. Meaning, that when it comes to letters from the Fuhrer, I want to know what he's saying to you. Can't have you attending any kind of military business behind my back, considering that you made a promise to me."

"I have no secrets to keep." I teased back with a sneer. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure that the Fuhrer just wants to have coffee or something at the estate or..."

Before I could finish my sentence, I heard Alphonse gasp with fear. He had managed to successfully open his letter, but his expression upon opening it was met with terror. Al covered his mouth with his hand, rereading the letter over and over again with his eyes before saying a word. I shot him a look of concern.

"...Al? What's wrong?"

Al slowly looked up at me, the fear in his eyes not holding back. I felt Winry grab my hand uneasily as he glanced at us, looking to me like he did as a little boy seconds before he was pulled into the gate back when he was ten. During the accident.

"B,Brother?" He stuttered. "These letters aren't words of condolence from Fuhrer Gruuman." He suddenly paused to take a short breath. "Brother these letters are telling us...to head back onto the battlefront."

"WHAT?!" Myself and Winry both yelled in shock. His words made my heart sink into my stomach. "Why?!"

I grabbed the letter from Alphonse and read it by and by. Every word made my throat want to scream in anger.

_Dear Mister Alphonse Elric,_

_At the request of the Amestrian Armed Forces, you have been conscripted as a result of Government Bill 87, condemning you to automatically begin training with the Amestrian Military. You are being automatically drafted to serve in military operations as a method to provoke national security, as Amestris is currently entering a state of military crisis that may result in the loss of our country's independant freedoms and our citizen's independent rights. Because your age rests between the guidelines, issuing from age 16 to age 60, you have been selected under Bill 87's commissions and will be deployed for training in exactly one month after this letter has been recieved._

_Due to your current place of residence, your training has been relocated to the military bases in Liore, where you will begin to train in order to learn how to fight for your country within this time of crisis. You have been registered to begin training under the 301 Basque Grand Memorial Squadron, where you will train for three full months before you are officially deployed over to your assigned battlefront._

_Refusal to act upon the instructions inclosed within this letter will result in automatic arrest and prosecution under the Treasonous Conscriptor's Act. Failure to arrive at bootcamp on the date of your scheduled military training will also result in automatic sentencing under the court of Amestris, resulting in automatic fines and other treason related charges._

_If you have further questions about this letter, please contact the Secretary Offices located at the Central Command Centre._

_To fight for your country, we wish to see you upon frontlines._

_Sincerely_

**Fuhrer King Gruuman**

"What the hell is this all about!?" I yelled as my eyes carefully read the Fuhrer's official signature. "I thought Mustang said he was gonna help us escape the military's grasp it had on us when he saw us at the hospital?" Alphonse's hands started to shake.

"Maybe this was just a mistake, Brother?" He said uneasily. "M,Maybe these were just sent to us because we fall under the age guidelines? Doesn't mean we have to go and fight, does it?" Suddenly, Winry grabbed the letter from my hands.

"Not in your condition, Alphonse." She said as she violently took the note from me, reading it over herself. "Both you and Edward are in no condition to get back out there and start fighting. Ed's still getting used to having his arm back, and you're still recovering from having your body taken for so long. Those idiots in Central must be out of their minds to think that you'd fight after all that's just happened here." Before I could show my anger about these letters any further, Granny suddenly poked her head into the room.

"What's all the commotion in here for, Edward? I heard you yelling, then again, what else is new?" She said with a tinge of sarcasm under her breath as she joked about my restlessness. However, this was not a laughing matter. She looked up at Alphonse, who looked devastated and confused about his situation and gave him a concerned look of her own. "Alphonse, what's matter? You look like you've seen a ghost."

I couldn't let Alphonse speak as he started to stutter under his breath, as I could see that this letter was taking a huge toll on him. He wasn't used to getting that exerted yet in his new form, so the shock of this letter was making him feel weak again as shaking started to rack his body. I quickly moved to sit next to him, wrapping my arm behind his back to keep him sitting up and to help his nerves settle a bit. He leaned his head on my shoulder as his face started to look a bit pale, the sickness that was being associated with his condition starting to take over again. And just when we thought his condition was improving...

Winry got off of the couch with worry, seeing my brother suddenly change hue. At the same time, Granny walked over to us and placed her hand gently on Al's forehead, shaking her head unhappily while doing so.

"You've got a fever again, Alphonse." She muttered uneasily. "Back upstairs with you. Whatever was in that letter, it sure has worked you right back a few notches."

I looked at my brother with concern. He hasn't felt sick since we've brought him here, so it was a sickening sight to have to see him suffering again right after we just brought him back home from the hospital. I bit my lip nervously.

"You alright, Al?"

To my response, he coughed, causing me to start rubbing circles on his back in order to sooth him from coughing anymore. He looked back at me and sighed.

"I'm feeling a bit, off balance Brother."

"Want me to carry you back to your room?"

"I don't want to burden you. You're still recovering too. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

"It's no burden, Al. Your cane's upstairs, so their's no way you'll be able to walk on your own in this shape. Come on." Alphonse gave me a weakened smile.

"...You're not giving me a choice, are you?"

"Nope." Alphonse sighed at me, rubbing his left eye with an exhausted yawn.

"You suck, brother. But, I guess this is better than nothing. I feel so useless right now, needing you to carry me around like a baby." I sneered at my brother's unhappiness, hoping to cheer him up.

"Well, you need to start getting better then, otherwise, I'm gonna have to start calling you one."

Giving up hopelessly struggling to keep himself on the couch, Alphonse laid down so that I could pick him up properly. I lifted him up, carrying him by his back and legs like a father would carry their son to bed after reading him a bedtime story in the dead of night. Dammit, it was like when we were kids all over again, me constantly having to keep a close eye on my brother like he was some kind of priceless article that I could wind up being prosecuted for damaging, which in a sense was the truth. Then again, I didn't mind the nostalgia surrounding me having to take care of him.

* * *

After I managed to heave Alphonse back into his room to sleep off these new symptoms, placing a small wet cloth on his forehead in order to keep his fever down and giving him a bowl just in case he needed to puke or something, I wandered back into the living room where Granny and Winry still sat. Pinako was casually smoking her pipe while Winry still had her mitts death gripped to my brother's letter. The look in her eyes was just horrible. I could tell that Win was completely heartbroken by this. My letter still sat on the table, completely unopened and uncreased from the hold of another's hands.

"You mind telling me what all of that fuss was about, Edward?" Granny said as she puffed a smoke ring from her mouth into the living room air. "It doesn't take a little thing in order for Alphonse to become that...well..." I looked towards Winry with a raised brow, signifying my curiousity.

"Winry hasn't told you?"

"I thought I'd wait until you had the chance to explain this yourself." She pouted. "Remember, team effort? If I don't know what to say about things concerning you, I'd let you explain them on your own?" I nodded.

"Thanks. I appreciate that, Winry." I said with a sigh. I respected her for following our set guidelines that we'd wrote after we declared our feelings towards one another. However, "Honestly though, I'm not too sure about how to go about this one myself."

"What are these letters anway?" Granny asked as she pulled mine off of the table, temped to open its seal. I quickly took it out of her hands.

"Alphonse's message carried nothing but bad news, so I can only guess what mine holds."

"What did his say?"

"Well, you were right about the sender of the letter. It's from the Fuhrer, or his secretary anyway. Bascially says that Alphonse needs to join the military for some reason. Probably just a flyer looking for military support from younger audiences."

In an instant, Granny's face turned from stern, to terrified. "Winry, pass me Al's letter. Now."

It only took the quick exchange of a pair of hands in order to convey even more terror into Pinako's face. It was unsettling. I've only seen the old hag worry a few times in my life. Once when my arm and leg were torn off, the other during my surgery and recovery, and the last time was when I started vomiting when we had dug up the corpse of mine and Al's failed human transmutation. It was always nerve racking to see the old woman look so scared, considering how stern she can be, always looking completely unphased and unafraid of the world around her. However, the emotion she was feeling radiated onto my shoulders, causing me to feel a little bit scared with what she was about to say as her eyes panned from side to side, checking each individual letter to the paper until she finally sighed miserably. I felt the antenna on my head perk up curiously.

"That damn Fuhrer," She growled, as she put more tabacco into the bowl of her device, lighting it with a little help from her match book. "He's sending every man and his dog to go out fighting in some pointless war! I thought we'd be finished with all of this combat after Bradley was killed!"

"Frankly, so did I." I muttered. "I thought Gruuman would have been a great Fuhrer, considering his reputation. Then again, power has the tendancy to corrupt even the nicest and smartest of people."

"So, does Alphonse have to fight or what?" Winry asked impatiently, clenching my right hand as I walked and sat next to her. Granny puffed out another ring of smoke.

"By the looks of it, this was a letter of conscription driven from the pacts set in Bill 87." She coughed as she choked on the inhaled substance in his throat. "Damn me for never hearing about it."

"I've never heard about it either." I said as I breathed in a bit of the smoke which now coated the air of the room entirely. It tasted horrible. "What does it mean though?"

Pinako sighed. "Conscription means that you're being forced to fight with to objections allowed. Alphonse has no right to appeal against the Fuhrer's actions, and has been selected to go into war..." Granny then turned to Winry and lowered her gaze, looking even more saddened after doing so. "I'm guessing that's what your letter says as well."

I turned my gaze to the wax seal emblazened on the lip of the envelope, giving it a fearsome glare of disappointment.

"But I was a State Alchemist dammit, why even bother giving me a letter like this?" I scowled. "I did my military action, and frankly, so has Al. He may of not been part of the military like I was, but it never stopped him from being part of damn near every mission I've ever been on."

"You need to go talk to Mustang and find out more about this, Ed." Winry said with a stern tone, causing both myself and Granny to turn to her. "He has the power to get those military monkeys off of yours and Al's backs."

"Now hang on, Winry." I started. "We don't even know what my message says yet. Who knows? It could be a note telling me to disregard Alphonse's letter saying that it was a mistake."

"But why would they send that to you?" Winry gave me a snarky stare as she said this, causing me to smile.

"Why wouldn't they send it to me? Trusted contact, Fullmetal Alchemist, Hero of the People, Savior of Amestris?" I rambled. "If they made a mistake, they'd tell me. I mean, come on? How many higher ups do I know in this government who would trust me after all I've done for them in these past few years? The line of gratitude's gotta be established somewhere, right?" Pinako puffed a final ring from her pipe.

"Well, let's just see for ourselves then?"

Looking down at the letter, I easily peeled the wax seal from its resting place, carefully positioning it so it would not tear the envelope at all and compromise the message inside. Once the envelope was unsealed, I pulled out the folded piece of paper and began eyeing each individual word looking for any mentions of a mistake in the mail concerning Alphonse's letter. However, my eyes were met with nothing more than a beam of hatred, as I carefully dotted each individual word with my gaze.

_Dear Major Edward "Fullmetal" Elric,_

_It has been a while since the last time we've spoken. However, I need to have a word with you regarding your sudden 'retirement' from the Amestrian Military and the State Alchemist Certification Program. What you've done was not legally documented by a government official, meaning that you currently still retain your State Alchemist Certification although you currently do not possess Alchemic abilities at this time. Meaning, that you are of no use to our services but continue to abuse the system by retaining the title you hold either on purpose or without your knowledge._

_Regardless of the legal matters surrounding your retirement, or should I say your 'draft dodging behaviors', you are being asked to return to Central in order to appropriately be stripped of your silver pocket watch and other State Alchemist related paraphernalia, including your State Alchemist codename of, "Fullmetal". You will retain your military rank of Major, and will begin automatic military training as you are currently being called in to serve in military matters under the conduct of Government Bill 87 upon your deranking._

_Due to where you are currently residing as residence, you will begin advanced training under the command of the 304 Maes Hughes Memorial Squardon, based on the outskirts of Dublith. Refusal to act in the line of duty at this time will result in yourself being automatically sentenced to imprisonment due to the fact that doing the action above is an act of treason according to our country's current constitution. I want no acceptions, no refusals, and no funny business resulting from you._

_I expect to see you in Central as soon as possible._

_Sincerely,_

**Fuhrer King Gruuman**

**PS: Nova,Oscar, Ocsar, Nova, Edward,Oscar, Kevin., Alpha, Yankee**

I felt my hands go numb after reading Gruuman's final statement beneath his signature. It said, no one, okay? He didn't want anyone to know about this? Of course I needed to tell Winry, and Granny, and Al. If he wanted to see me in person, I'd be willing to see him right now. Just how the words were written made my curiosity rise, and my anger fluctuate. That bastard knew that he was sending people like me and Alphonse into war, but he still wanted to have a chat with me?

Strategic son of a bitch.

And what did he mean by "No one, okay?" Tell no one? Bring no one?

Looking at my letter, it seemed a little more personal than the one that was distributed to Alphonse. His seemed almost like a mass produced document, while mine appeared to be directly addressing me. Reviewing its contents only made my hands shake as I felt the rage within me boil over what the hell these people were trying to explain within these damn one sided messages.

"Dammit."

"What?" Winry asked as she placed a firm hand on my shoulder. She could tell that something was wrong as my eyes began to fall into an angered position.

"That bastard wasn't making a mistake..." I growled. "...He's sending young people to their deaths, he's even separated me and Al from training together! He wants Al to stay in Liore while I get shipped off to Dublith in order to train for the same mission."

"This is pure insanity." Pinako said with another sigh, displaying her emotions which seemed mixed to my ears. "He honestly can't think that Alphonse is even able to serve in the condition he's in right now."

"Worse still," I continued, as I threw the note on the table between us. "He says that if Al misses training, that they're gonna jail him. But for me, I'm getting an automatic life sentence if I'm absent."

"So, they'll sentence you, as well as Alphonse, just for not listening to these idiotic pieces of paper dangling in front of us?" Win scowled, almost with a yell as the disbelief was settling even more into the air of the house. She grabbed the piece of paper from the table with her right hand, keeping her left on my shoulder as she clenched it a bit harder, causing me to look right at her. Her blue eyes bore a look of frustration and, somewhat sadness, indicating that her emotions were just as mixed as her grandmother's.

"You're not going to leave for this, are you Ed?"

I sighed. Honestly, I was confused at the time of this entire thing. However, confusion only seems to complicate things when it comes to situations like this. I couldn't let Winry see the unsureness in my face, but it was clearly present as I attempted to half-ass a sincere smile making it look like I knew what the hell I was doing.

"To war, hell no." I sneered. "But to see Mustang and that damn bastard, I'm gonna give them both a piece of my mind when I ride my ass back to Central. I'm gonna go and straighten things out, nothing more, nothing less. I'm gonna try and get Alphonse off of conscription somehow and immediately head back here." Pinako closed her eyes to me as she set her pipe down on the table, crossing her arms defiantly.

"So, you'll be gone for a day or so?"

"Most likely." I mumbled. "Don't worry, Granny, it won't take long for me to yap to the Fuhrer and give a smack to Mustang for not preventing this from happening in the first place." She opened one eye.

"You might wanna bring Winry along for the trip."

Gruuman's coded P.S at the bottom of the letter, suddenly popped into my mind. Thinking quickly before Winry could react, I had to come up with an excuse to travel alone. If Gruuman needed me to fly solo, their was probably a reason behind it.

"But if Winry leaves with me, who's gonna keep an eye on Al while you guys tend to automail customers?" I asked uneasily. Winry raised an eye at my statement.

"Well, Granny's here." She muttered. "It doesn't take more than a couple of seconds to check on Al and head back to a customer who's waiting for maintenance." As I tried to think of another thing to say that could prevent Winry from travelling along side with me, not that I was really against it or anything, just following order. Winry suddenly stumbled across the message beneath Gruuman's signature.

"Ed, what's this supposed to mean?"

"What, the nova thing?"

"Yeah."

I took a deep breath, hoping that she would understand what Gruuman wanted from me, even though I didn't even understand what the heck he needed.

"It says, "No one, okay". " I growled. "Gruuman wrote it for me specifically."

"Sounds to me like an order to travel alone." Granny muttered. I nodded unhappily.

"Seems so. Meaning no Al, and unfortunately, no mechanic either. Seems like he wants to speak face to face, but for what reason bothers me. He hasn't really explained anything pasted this point."

Winry took her hand off of my shoulder and put the note on the ground, placing both of her palms on her knees as she suddenly gazed heavily towards the table.

"I don't care what he says Ed," She started. "I'm going with you to Central, no questions asked." Before I could blink, Winry suddenly lifted up my pantleg, exposing my automail to light. "What if your automail needs maintenance because you did something stupid? Like getting into a fight?"

"All because my automail gets broken once..."

"Twice." Pinako piped in.

"Actually, more than about **six times** in two years!" Winry growled, hitting me on the head with a wrench I didn't realize she had in her back pocket. I yelped on contact with the metal weapon bashing against my skull, holding my head in pain. "You need me a lot more than you realize, Edward."

"I need you not to fricken bash me across the head with that stupid wrench, dammit!" I winced. "You're gonna make me brain dead one of these days! Remind me never to buy you another automailing tool, or it might come back to haunt me!" I looked up at her with a unamused stare. "And where do you get this, six times you've had to repair my automail on my journey nonsense?" Win crinkled her nose.

"The first time was before you left," She began. "The second was when you came here with Armstrong after Scar shattered your arm, then I repaired you when you got sent to the hospital after one of your missions. After that, I had to fix you up twice after you came back from training in Dublith, completely replace your automail when you got sent out to Briggs, repair both your arm and leg after you showed up back here in Resembool after you'd gone missing for some reason that you still haven't explained, and then I maintenanced your leg after you came home with Alphonse from the hospital. In total, seven times I've had to repair your dumbass in total! And that's only in three years!" To her frustration, I tussled her hair.

"Yeah, but that lightweight automail sure took a long time to break after you replaced it back in Briggs." I said with a smile. "You can see why those customers in Rush Valley love you like they do. You know how to make good automail."

"Yeah, but you don't know how to maintenance it, nor stop breaking it." She muttered, a redness flushing at her cheeks from the appreciation. She was blushing from the compliment, causing Pinako to smile lightly. I grabbed Winry's hands.

"So, you're coming with me regardless of what the letter says?"

"Only if you'll let me." She sneered. "You don't have a problem with me tagging along, do you?" I shook my head.

"Not at all." I smirked. "Besides, you're right. I'm probably going to break my damn leg before the trip is over. I've never had a lot of damage come from my leg, other than you having to buffer out a few scratches." Pinako suddenly stood up, picking her pipe off of the table.

She mumbled. "Then it's settled. You two will leave on the train tomorrow headed straight for Central. I'd advise you two bring a bag or something, even though the trip will be a short one."

"You really don't think I'd leave here without my tool box, do you Grandma?" Winry laughed. "And Ed's probably going to bring his brown suitcase as usual. He never leaves for a journey without the damn thing."

"Then you two better start packing." Granny grumbled as she stumbled herself back into the kitchen, returning to her unsorted mail pile waiting for her where she left it as me and Winry quickly darted upstairs to pack for the train ride. Before I could get all the way up the staircase, Pinako turned back to me. "And one more thing, Ed."

_"Just make sure that Winry comes home safe."_

**I know, not the best opening chapter, but this sets the course for the rest of the plot. Now, Ed has to head to Central with Winry. But how will Alphonse take the news of his brother leaving for a few days while he's sick? And what's Edward going to do when he finds Mustang and Gruuman? Please R&R!**


End file.
